SPACER

Standardize – Taking process steps and developing a routine way of doing themParallel processing – Doing two activities in the same time slot (not multi-tasking)Automate – Taking a human task and replacing it with a machine or toolConsolidate – Combining two processes into oneEliminate – Deleting or removing a non-value element in the workRe-arrange – Organizing the work flow order and location based on a sequence of stepsSimplify – Making a complex task easier to perform

It is more commonly used as an acronym used to ensure you have good meetings or training classes.

Safety – No one should get hurt, even in a training classPurpose – Why is everyone here? What do they hope to get from this meeting/class?Agenda – What are we doing, and how long will each section take to completeConduct – Rules and guidelines for attendees to ensure full participationExpectations – Getting clarity on what the attendees want or expect to getRoles – Who is managing the agenda, facilitating, or being the timekeeper?

Another similar version of SPACER…

ScopePurposeAgendaCommunicationExpectationsRoles

Finally, there is one more acronym called SCAMPERR, which describes thinking techniques that help those who use them, to help come up untypical solutions to problems.

Substitute – Remove some part of the accepted situation, thing, or concept and replace it with something else.

Combine – Join, affiliate, or force together two or more elements of your subject matter and consider ways that such a combination might move you toward a solution.

Adapt – Change some part of your problem so that it works where it did not before.

Modify – Consider many of the attribute of the thing you’re working on and change them, arbitrarily, if necessary. Attributes include: size, shape, other dimensions, texture, color, attitude, position, history, and so on.

Purpose (Put to other use) – Modify the intention of the subject. Think about why it exists, what it is used for, what it’s supposed to do. Challenge all of these assumptions and suggest new and unusual purposes.

Eliminate – Arbitrarily remove any or all elements of your subject, simplify, reduce to core functionality

Reverse – Change the direction or orientation. Turn it upside-down, inside-out, or make it go backwards, against the direction it was intended to go or be used.